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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — humankind
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. race — the arms race
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — for catching
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. net — in sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. net — after costs
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com